Designer, Composer, Storyteller

Tartuffe

Written by MoliereDirected by Marlo HunterSets by Reid ThompsonCostumes by Leon DobkowskiLighting by Amith ChandrashakerSound & Original Music by Matt Otto

Photos by Joanne Bouknight

Empathitrax

Empathitrax is a world premiere play by Ana Nogueira and directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, which tells the story of a couple in the midst of a relationship crisis. They turn to a newly released pill named Empathitrax, when taken allows the patient to feel the emotions and feelings of whomever they touch. The play explores relationships, depression and...empathy.

The music was inspired by the emotions the pill stirs up in the couple on stage and the science used to create it. The music starts in a halting and enigmatic fashion as the play progresses and the emotions start to flow as does the music switching from synthesizers and drum machines to acoustic piano.

All of the cues were written in Sibelius and Ableton Live and played back by QLab.

Written by Ana NogueiraDirected by Adrienne Campbell-HoltSets by Reid ThompsonCostumes by Sarah LauxLighting by Grant YeagerProperties by Shannon O’BrienPhotos by Robert Altman

The Seagull

This production of The Seagull by Anton Chekov directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt used a modern design vocabulary to help tell the story of this classic play. Adrienne asked the design team to focus on emotional journey and the decay that the characters experience as the play progresses. The original music for the transitions and underscoring was heavily influence by the scenic and costume design.

The the monochromatic objects found throughout the set led me to the idea of writing melodies based on the emotional context of the moment on top of repeating musical phrases that provided the drive necessary to move the play forward. The modern silhouette of the clothes and the abstract space the set provided allowed me to explore modern recording techniques like quick panning and heavy amounts of reverb.

All of the cues were written in Sibelius and Ableton Live and played back by QLab.

Written by Anton ChekovDirected by Adrienne Campbell-HoltSets by Lawrence MotenCostumes by Adrienne PerryLighting by Masha Tsimring

Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me

A modern classic by Frank McGuinness, set in a Lebanese basement cell during the 1980s. The play tells the story of three international hostages; one American, one Irishman, and one Englishman; how they deal with each other, their dire situation and their salvation through their compassion.

Original music was written for all the transitions. A chamber string orchestra consisting only of cello, viola and bass was used to mirror the simplicity of their location, yet still provide enough range to cover the characters’ dynamic emotional swings between hope and dejection.

All of the cues were written in Sibelius and Ableton Live and played back by QLab.

Written by Frank McGuinnessDirected by Jesse Jou.Sets and Lighting by Scott ManchaCostumes by Kristin Isola

Sound Editing and Mixing

Examples of my sound editing and mixing work as well as my soundscapes.

2nd Video: Samurai Battle Voice Over from the play Stone Cold Dead Serious

In the play Stone Cold Dead Serious the playwright describes via a play play voice over of a real world Samurai Battle competition based on a functional video game between the protagonist, his girlfriend and three trained Samurai warriors.

In the play House of Yes a dangerous hurricane keeps all the characters trapped inside the protagonist's family home. This is an amalgamation of hurricane transitions which were used to whoosh the audience between scenes.

In a Tilted Place

A series of 10 minute plays by Troy Deutsch that flow between each other like dreams when one is sleeping. The through line between pieces is not a plot but specific emotions, a sense of the surreal and the feeling of being out of place in your environment.

Original music with tight orchestration consisting of viola, cello, bass and sometimes marimba or glockenspiel was written for all the transitions and underscoring. The music captured the sense of dreaming and mystery without loosing the whimsy inherent in the script.

All of the cues were written in Sibelius and Ableton Live and playback by QLab.

Written by Troy DeutschDirected by Ashley Brooke Monroe and Courtney Ulrich. Sound and Original Music by Matt OttoLights by Scot GianelliSets by Kate NollCostumes by Jenny KesslerPuppets by Brandon Hardy

I’m Miserable but Change Scares Me

A surreal world premiere production, about the angst of growing older and becoming a decent human being in this post modern age.

Written by Milo Cramer Directed by Morgan GreenChoreographed by Philip BerezneySets by Schuyler BurksCostumes by Isabelle ColerLights by Marika Kent

Of Ogres Retold

Ogres is an experience that is part dance, part puppetry and part play that contains no spoken words. All the stories are based on Japanese folktales like the Dojoji, the Baku, the Kuchisake-onna, and many more. Each story was told through movement and music.

The cues were both remixed found music and original compositions based on modern electronic dance bands like Grimes, Stantigold and Austra.

All of the cues were built in Ableton Live and played back via Ableton Live, and triggered by QLab.

Conceived and directed by Adam RiggSets by Adam RiggCostumes by Maria HooperLights by Solomon Weisbard

Johnny Meister and The Stitch

Two men play multiple characters living in the present day Belfast hood. Neither Johnny Meister nor The Stitch have any direction in their lives. Both are living on government welfare and still have the same anger and aggression that their forefathers had during “The Troubles” with nowhere to direct it, except at each other.

Each act is a monologue, describing the same drug fueled night through their particular perspectives. Act 1 presents Johnny’s point of view, Act 2 is The Stitch’s culminating in a car crash and fight between these two thugs. Two actors play multiple characters that fill out the story.

In our production the set and lighting were very simple. A series of Florescent tubes divided the wall and bathed both the actors and the theater in their harsh light.

Sound was used to described specific locations and emotional underscoring. We used various leitmotif for important objects like Johnny’s Knife and locations like the supermarket to give the audience an anchor point for where they physical were and where each character was in his own bender.

I am particularly proud of this show because my work was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award in the Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production category in 2011.

Written by Rosemary JenkinsonDirected by Des KennedyCostumes by Lynly SaundersLights by Marianne Meadows

Square Peg Round Hole

Tectonic Theatre Projection’s world premier workshop production about experiencing the world of an autistic person and the lives of people who care for them.

Co-written by Anushka Paris-Carter and Andy Paris Directed by Andy Paris.Sets by Adromache ChalfantLights by Bradely KingProjections by Grant McDonald

AlgoRhythym

Inspired by the work of composers like Steven Reich, Lukas Ligeti, Brian Eno, and Conlon Nancarrow as well as mathematicians like Wacław Sierpiński and Benoit Mandelbrot. I composed a half hour of original music based on the fractal algorithms of Sierpinski's Triangle, Node Counter Sequencing, and a waveform to MIDI interpolation that triggered a modern player piano live in the concert hall. I also explored various software programs including Ableton Live, MaxMSP and Isadora.

For a more detailed account of the creation process please download my thesis as a PDF here.

Beyond Theater

Original compositions, and re-scores created for projects outside of my theatrical composition work.

The first video is a Re-Score of original music I composed for a Battletech play through.

The second video is from an art installation at the Yale University Art Museum I wrote music for. The installation was titled Asleep in Harmony. Further details of which can be found here. The projections were designed by Kristen Robinson.

The third and fourth videos are pieces I wrote for my music composition class I took while attending Yale School of Drama.